Buck or Doe?
Zippy keeping me amused
I just finished reading this article about Palantir and the impending destruction of the free world. As it is unabashedly nightmare fuel, (which I advise only reading if you’re fresh out of Stephen King to scare yourself with) I am now sitting in my studio, wondering what I might do to recenter my brain. Things that would be less stressful than pondering the horrors within that piece:
Getting teeth pulled.
Having an IUD placed.
Getting a colonoscopy. Awake.
Having a mammogram.
Pouring vinegar in my eye.
Cuddling a bear.
I mean… I think you get the idea. If the things in that article are true… just… we might want to start cheering on asteroids or something.
Since I don’t have any plans to get medical procedures today, and I am fresh out of bears, I’m letting myself be distracted by Zippy the squirrel.
Today’s question: is Zippy a buck or a doe, and will there be baby Zippies coming soon?!? The above picture is from a couple weeks ago.
This picture is from today:
Is it wishful thinking, or is Zippy looking a bit more… round? Could this be a baby belly? I genuinely hope so. I even— like an absolute creep— tried seeing in the reflection on the table if Zippy might be a girl or a boy, but, alas, this yielded no evidence. Still… I am hoping the squirrely roundness is a sign that more than sunflower seeds are in there, and maybe I’ll be treated to some new friends soon.
Does Zippy know we are friends? Almost certainly not.
Does Zippy know I am snapping pictures? Mercifully, no. She’d press charges.
Does Zippy know I am squeaking with delight each time I see her? Possibly.
Does Zippy seem to care about any of the above, so long as the sunflower dish stays full? Not one bit.
Angry political rant:
I cannot fathom the things that are unfolding in our country right now. The “vote for Trump because he’ll save your wallet” crowd doesn’t seem to be upset about the skyrocketing prices of gas and groceries. (Just wait until escalating fertilizer costs catch up with food prices in the fall!) The “vote for Trump because the Republican party is pro-life” group isn’t hollering about the deaths of innocent children— must be because Muslim children are expendable? What about the estimated 3 million preventable deaths that are on Trump’s hands from cuts to USAID? The “keep the big government out of my life” voters are also strangely silent about a company such as Palantir having its hands on every single facet of American life. What about people who claim to be “against government corruption”— what are your thoughts on Trump engaging in suspicious oil deals and the likelihood of insider trading? People who voted for Trump because he promised to get America healthy through the powers of RFK, Jr? Not hollering loudly as we signed bills supporting more glyphosate (poison) to be in our food systems and less protections against contamination of everything on our plates. Are we thriving by eating carcinogens and poisoning our water? The “I’ll get America out of foreign wars” president has decided to drop bombs on Iran, while Ukraine suffers and at least 8 major conflicts burn around the world. Meanwhile, our country continues to pull out of any and all possibilities of keeping earth habitable, including increasing mining in fragile ecosystems — having, evidently, learned nothing from the ecological disaster that happened with Butte, Montana, mining. Do you want to live where the water will kill you? I certainly don’t.
I am tired— so very, very, tired— of all of it. I know: I’m just a victim of believing all the fake news and lies about an innocent, Messiah-like, figure, right?
End of rant. For now.
Zippy has taken herself off my deck for now, hopefully to go renovate her nest for the arrival of some bouncing baby kits. Until she returns, I suppose I’ll have to find new ways to distract myself. Perhaps I’ll go polish my kitchen floor with a toothbrush, or reorganize the utensil drawer. In about a week, though, I imagine my hands will be quite occupied with the arrival of baby goats.
Hold on, dear reader! Cute baby goat stories (and, hopefully, some squirrel babies, too!) instead of political rants are just around the bend!
Thank you for being here, and for reading my stream-of-consciousness writing. I feel like I should pay you for reading today. Hopefully, baby season will be a remedy for what ails me— or at least a distraction from the things being discussed online.
Feel like supporting my family? It’s never expected, and always appreciated.